Suction-cleaner.



E. J. BOBBY..

SUGTION CLEANER.

APPLIUATIOH FILED SM1/24, 1913,

L M4961 30 Patented July 2l, wm

2 SHEETS-BHEET 1.

M??? www? E. J. BOBBY. SUCTION CLEANER.

APPLIOATIOII FILED SEPT. 24, 191s.

Pat/@umd July 2l, 19ML 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

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upon the surface to be cleaned, in novel entren fraile PATENT @FFIGEQ EDWARD J. BODEY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ECLIPSE FOLDING MACHINE COMPANY, OF SIDNEY,

OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SUCTION-CLEANER.

T0 all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BoDEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suction-Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to portable suction cleaners, and is exemplified as a suction cleaner having a plurality of suction-openings, in one of which a brush is located.

The invention consists in novel means for adjusting and rotating the brush; in novel means for supporting the suction cleaner means for adjusting the height of its suction-opening with which the brush coperates with relation to said surface, and the invention will be further readily understood from the following description and Vclaims.,` and from the drawings, in which latter:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved device showing its handle in ordinary working position in full lines and in assumed position in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, vwith the handle in ordinary working position and partly broken away. Fig. 3 'is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, showing the driving means for the brush. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the same, shown on the same section. Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of the adjustable wheel support located at the left side of the machine. Fig. 6 is a central vertical section of my improved device taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-section, taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a vertical crosssection taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 2, showing the lips of the suction-opening with which the brush coperates and the brush in low position, induced by the adjustment of the adjustable wheels; and, Fig. 9 1s a similar view, showing the lips of the suction-opening with which the brush'coperates and the brush in a raised position.

I have illustrated my improved device as of the general form as that shown and described in my application for Letters Patent on suction cleaners, filed Novembery 11, 1912, Serial No. 730,663, and the present invention is intended as an improvement on the suction cleaner shown and described and Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led September 24, 1913.

claimed in my aforesaid application.

Patented July 21, 19141.

Serial No. 791,549.

11 represents the case of my improved device in which a fan 12 rotates, the fan being secured to the lower end of an armature shaft 13 of an electric motor 14 mounted on the case. The case has an exit-port 15 communicating witha suitable bag 16 serving as a dust separating device. The bag has support from a handle 17 by means of a spring 18.

21 is a nozzle releasably secured to the case as by means of set-screws 22. The nozzle has a suction chamber 23 therein which communicates with lthe chamber 24 in the case through a passage The nozzle in the present exemplification forms a releasable base for the case.

I prefer to provide the nozzle with a lateral extension 27 at each corner thereof. Suction-openings 28, 29, are formed in the nozzle and extend lengthwise of said lateral extensions. The suction-openings are located side by side in spaced apart relation and are preferably of comparatively different widths, the narrow suction-opening 28 being located at the rear and the wide Isuction-opening 29 being located at the front of the device. Y y

The mouth of the suction-opening 28 has an outer lip 31 and an inner lip 32, and the mouth of the suction-opening 29 has an outer lip 33 and an inner lip 34. One of the lips suction-nozzle is in operating relation with the surface 35 to be cleaned, is higher than the other of said lips, instanced in this case as the inner lips `32, 34, which are shown higher than the outer lips 31, 33, whereby inlet-spaces 36, 37, into the chamber 23 through said respective openings are insured. The said chamber has a bottom 38 which connects the adjacent lips 32, 34, of the suction-openings of the nozzle, and is Shown of arch-form for forming a substantial draft-space 39 under the suction cleaner leading to the inlet-spaces 36, 37.

I prefer to provide a brush, shown at 11, in the wider of said suction-openings and to rotate said brush, so that its contacting part with the surface being cleaned moves in a direction opposite to the movement of the suction cleaner over said surface, and further to provide means whereby the lips of the suction-opening in which the brush is located may be raised or lowered with re- Y lation to the surface being cleaned; and, I

have further preferred to provide means whereby said brush may also be raised and lowered with relation to said surface, but preferably to different extent from the raising and lowering of the said lips, and to provide means whereby the brush may readil-ybe removed from the device.

I provide the adjustment stated to accommodate different surfaces to ybe cleaned, for instance, if a polished floor or other un- `yielding surface` is to be cleaned /it is advisable to have the lips of the suction-opening and the brush in close proximity to said surface, whereas, for instance, in cleaning carpets having a long nap, it is desirable to raise said lips of the suction-opening and the through the suction-opening.

45, 45, are a pair 'of supporting wheels A located in substantial line with and at the ends of the suction-opening 29. Each of these wheels rotates' on an axle 46 rigid with a plate 47 pivoted on a screw 48 screwed into the end wall 49 of the suction-opening- 29 and. arranged to swingen said pivot for raising or lowering the wheel Awith relation tothe suction-nozzle. Each of the plates is positioned by means of' a Vset-screw -50 threaded in a threaded hole 51 in a lug 52 extending from the plate 47 and selectively received in one of the notches 53 of the nozzle.` The lugs 52 on the plates 47, at

opposite ends of the nozzle, as shown in Fig.

2, yextend inwardly in 'opposite directions.

The brush 41 vcomprises a shaft 55, the

ends whereof rotate in bearings formed by slots in the plates 47 and theends of suction-opening 29. The wheels are shown of housing form'and each incases a gear 57 rotating therewith, ythe gears n57 meshing with pinions 58 at the respective ends of the brush-shaft. The shaft of the brush passes through a slot 59 at each end of the nozzle and through a slot 60 in each of the plates 47. The slots 59 and 60 at the respective ends of the nozzle cross each other andare arrangedl so that 'substantial meshing of the gears 57 and pinions l58 is maintained throughout the adjustments of the plates, and so that the wheels are adjusted greater distances than the brush when said plates are adjusted.

lThe 'slots 59 are shown as upright slots, whereasfthe'slots 60 are slots which extend preferably'in a curve transverse to the slots 59 and open inwardly from the' peripheries oflthe plates 47, theparts being preferably so arranged that greater comparative up and down movements are imparted to the wheels than to the brush by the swinging of the plates 47. This has vthe advantage that when the wheels are in up-position,

vpositionedfor cleaning an unyielding sur-y ace, as shown in Fig. 8, the lips of the suc-- tion-opening are closely adjacent to the surface being cleaned, and the surface contacting portion ofthe brush contacts said surface. When the wheels are in down-position, as shown in Fig. 9, ositioned for cleaning a long-nap carpet, intoy which the wheels sink, the lips of the suction-opening are' raised for insuring proper'passage through the inlet-spaces 36, 37, above the nap of the carpet, the brush being raised to comparatively less extent for insuring proper brushing of the nap, and avoiding excess of .friction therewith. The axes of the wheels, brush and :the

pivots of the 'plates areprefera-bly triangu-l larly arranged, as will be noted infF-igs'7, 8 and 9, the axes being arrangedin parallel vertical planes, the verticaljplanein which the axes of the pivots is located being spaced from the vertical planes in which the axes of the brush and wheel are located. The distance between the axes of the wheel and pivot is preferably greater than .the distance between the axes of the brush and pivot. f

The teeth of the gear-57 and of thefpin-ion 58 are preferably sufficiently long to 'maintain meshing relation between A'the same throughout the range of adjustment of the wheels, the gear 57 in its adjustment moving about the pinionto a 'certain extent to aid.- in maintaining the 'meshing of their teeth.-

The suction cleaner is shown supported on the wheels 45 at the front end thereof and von a wheel 61 at the rear thereof, the wheel 61 being vmounted on a stud 62 in brackets 63 extending from the nozzle, the wheels as shown forming a three-point support for the device.

The set-screws 5,0 may be withdrawn suiiiciently for ermitting sufficient swing of the plates 47 The handle 17 isat its lower end provided with a fork 66, the tines'of which are pivoted on screwsf67.: One of' the ,tincs is pro'- vided with an a'rcjslot 68 vthrough which a clamp-bolt 69'fextends into the case forclamping the handle in selective adjusted positions. The greater portion of the arel slot 681s at oneside of a-rightline drawn between the pivot 67'iand the outeryend of the handle for permitting the handle tobe arranged to be swung into suitable angles with relation to the vertical, or to be placed in a substantially )vertical position so as 'to be out of -theway and to cause'fthe' device to* or permitting removal of the brush through the outer ends of the slots i 115 Having thus fully described my invention, l

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a portable suction cleaner, the combination of a suction-nozzle, a supporting wheel therefor, a plate on which said wheel rotates pivoted to said nozzle, a brush, said nozzle and plate having crossing slots by the walls whereof said brush is positioned, and means for positionin said plate with relation to said nozzle or adjusting the height of said nozzle and of said'brush with relation to said wheel.

2. In a portable suction cleaner, the combination of a suction-nozzle, a supporting wheel therefor, a plate on which said wheel rotates pivoted to said nozzle, a brush, said nozzle and plate having crossing slots by the walls whereof said brush is positioned, the axes of said Wheel, brush and pivot being triangularly arranged, the vertical plane.:v

in which the axis of said pivot is located being spaced from the vertical planes in which the axes of said wheel and brush are loc-ated,

" and means for positioning said plate with relation to said nozzle.

3. In a portable suction cleaner, the combination of a suction-nozzle, a supporting wheel therefor, a plate on which said wheel rotates pivoted to said nozzle, a brush, said nozzle and plate having crossing slots by the walls whereof said brush is positioned, the axes of said wheel, brush and pivot being triangularly arranged, the distance between said axes of said wheel and pivot being greater Ythan the. distance between the axes of said brush andl pivot, the axes of said wheel and pivot being in different vertical planes and means for positioning said plate with relation to said nozzle.

gear rigid with said wheel, a brush, a pinion on said brush meshing with said gear, said nozzle and plate having crossing slots in which said brush is mounted.

5. In a' portable suction cleaner, the combination of a nozzle, a plate, a brush, a,

wheel journaled to said plate, said plate pivoted to said nozzle, said nozzle and plate provided with coacting crossing slots the walls whereof position said brush, driving means between said wheel and brush for rotating said brush, the relations of the walls of said slots and of the axes of said wheel, brush and pivot being such that when said plate is swung downwardly said brush is movedv downwardly to less extent than the downward movement of said wheel.

6. In a portable suction cleaner, the com bination of a suction-nozzle having a suction-opening, a brush therein, a roller-support pivoted to said suction-nozzle, a roller thereon for supporting said nozzle said rollensupport and nozzle having crossing slots extending inwardly from the peripheries ofsaid roller-support and nozzle respectively, said brush being received through said slots and positioned by the walls thereof and releasable from said walls by the swinging of said plate.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.v

EDWARD J. BODEY. Witnesses:

CHARLES E. WEBER, THERESA M. SILBER. 

